THE ISSUES

LGBTQ+

Covenant House Florida is committed to ensuring that our Safe Havens are welcoming, affirming, and safe for young people who identify as LGBTQ+.

That’s because LGBTQ+ youth experience a much higher risk of homelessness than their peers, and, once on the street, they face additional hardships because of stigma and discrimination.

In the United States, LGBTQ+ youth are more than twice as likely to experience homelessness as their non-LGBTQ+ peers. And, while LGBTQ+ youth make up only 7% of the total U.S. youth population, they comprise an astounding 40% of all young people experiencing homelessness in the country, according to one estimate.

But not only are LGBTQ+ youth at higher risk of homelessness in the U.S., they also face, among all young people experiencing homelessness, greater risks of "high levels of hardship." Hardship includes higher rates of assault, trauma, exchanging sex for basic needs, and early death. Black youth who identify as LGBTQ+, particularly young men, experience the highest rates of homelessness.

Welcome, Affirming, Safe

At Covenant House Florida, our mission is one of unconditional love and absolute respect for all young people facing homelessness. Welcoming young people who identify as LGBTQ+ to our programs has been a part of who we are since our founding in 1985. 

Trauma-informed, Resilience-focused Approach to LGBTQ+ Homelessness

Youth who make their way to Covenant House Florida do so bearing complex histories of trauma, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and violence in the home or on the streets. LGBTQ+ youth are further traumatized by the rejection they have experienced in their families, schools, and communities due to their gender identity or expression or sexual orientation. 

Covenant House Florida is aware of the trauma young people experience while facing homelessness as well as of their resilience.Our approach trains our staff in core competencies such as understanding trauma, stress management and coping, restoring a young person’s sense of control, and reducing shame and stigma, among others.

This approach, together with the awareness we have raised among staff to ensure a welcoming, affirming, and safe space for LGBTQ+ youth, distinguishes Covenant House Florida as a provider of shelter that addresses the whole person, with all of that young person's experience and potential.

All Are Welcome Here

Most LGBTQ+ young people access services from non-LGBTQ-specific agencies, according to True Colors United and The Williams Institute. At Covenant House Florida, we’re proud of the diversity of the youth in our houses and the staff who welcome and serve them. All young people facing homelessness are welcome here and are embraced with unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support.

At Covenant House Florida, diversity and inclusion don't end at intake. Our youth share dormitories, dining tables, and classrooms. They share in the same opportunities for entertainment, self-improvement, worship, exercise, group counseling, field trips, creative workshops, and all other activities.

Diversity can be challenging, but we strive to build understanding among each other at Covenant House Florida, where our residents are, indeed, a microcosm of the surrounding society. We hope that as our youth progress toward their goal of independent living they will take with them a deepened understanding and respect for one another into the rest of their lives.

Resources

"LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in America," Voices of Youth Count, Chapin Hall, University of Chicago, 2018